The man behind the voice of Sesame Street‘s Count von Count is gone. Jerry Nelson, who worked with Muppets creator Jim Henson early in his career, died Thursday at age 78. Nelson also played Gobo Fraggle on the 1980s Henson TV series Fraggle Rock. Jim Henson Co. C.E.O. Lisa Henson said in a statement that Nelson “imbued all his characters with the same gentle, sweet whimsy and kindness that were a part of his own personality. He joined the Jim Henson Co. in the earliest years, and his unique contributions to the worlds of Fraggles, Muppets, Sesame Street and so many others are, and will continue to be, unforgettable.”

WNYC in New York will launch Gabfest Radio, a one-hour program combining edited versions of two popular podcasts led by editors of online magazine Slate, with two weekend broadcasts. The move is a fast turnaround for WNYC, which first announced the program and collaboration with Slate in a Tuesday press release. Slate‘s Political Gabfest, which began in 2005, is hosted by website editor David Plotz,  chief political correspondent John Dickerson and senior editor and legal correspondent Emily Bazelon. Its Culture Gabfest, which originated in 2008, is hosted by deputy editor Julia Turner,  movie critic Dana Stevens and culture critic at large, Stephen Metcalf.

First came WYPR’s pledgecats. Then, WBEZ’s cats posing as pubradio personalities. Now, cute kitties have invaded the KCRW studios for its latest pledge pitch. There’s an appearance by on-air personalities at the Santa Monica, Calif., station, including Steve Chiotakis, afternoon news anchor, as well as a cameo by a very famous author (we won’t spoil it for you). But the real, multiple stars are the oodles of cute, adoptable kittens from the Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles. Cuteness abounds.

After a delay earlier this month, KUT-FM in Austin, Texas, has purchased KXBT, a commercial station now broadcasting classic rock at 98.9 FM. The $6 million deal was approved by the University of Texas System Board of Regents today (Aug. 23). The new KUTX will operate as a noncom music station, with KUT switching to all news. The new formats will begin sometime this fall, following FCC approval of the deal. “Music is part of Austin’s DNA,” the station said in an FAQ on its website. “We see an opportunity to deliver an all-music service focused on the Austin Music Experience.

In an interview with Politico, Andrea Seabrook explains how her work on her new project, the DecodeDC website, will differ from her past work as NPR’s congressional correspondent. “I am going to try to focus myself on the stories that none of the other reporters have time to cover,” she said. “NPR would have loved to have had any of these stories.  . . .  The problem is, as a modern, esteemed news organization, NPR also feels that it needs to cover the daily news and the daily news as currently defined is what happened on the floor today, what’s the big debate in Congress, what’s your government doing.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s executive director has suggested nearly $200,000 in spending cuts and cautioned members of the Educational Broadcasting Authority board that further reductions may be necessary, reports the Charleston Gazette. The proposal from Dennis Adkins on Wednesday (Aug. 22) includes dropping the network’s membership in the Association of Public Television Stations advocacy group, a $26,000 savings; cancellation of certain Nielsen and Aribtron ratings services, $25,300; and a halt to publication of Pubcaster, its news and program guide, $46,932. The network faces a 7.5 percent drop in state support next year, part of statewide budget cuts ordered by Gov.

Musician and public radio fan M. Ward has created an iPhone app that serves as a guide to noncommercial radio stations across the country. The Wasteland Companion app, which shares its name with Ward’s latest album, features almost a thousand stations of various formats, according to Rolling Stone. “The idea came out of my own necessity,” M. Ward told the magazine. “When I’m on tour, I want to listen to local radio with music being played by real people and actual voices in that community. Radio has the power to be a cultural hub.” Ward’s travels have taken him to public radio stations as a guest — you can check him out on The Current in St.

NPR has hired Monique Hanson, from YMCA of the USA, as its chief development officer. Hanson joined the YMCA in 2004 and  served as senior v.p. and chief development officer for the $5 billion organization. In her position at NPR, Hanson will oversee NPR’s fundraising programs and work with stations and the trustees of the NPR Foundation Inc., a private nonprofit. “Monique has the experience needed to take NPR to new heights in fundraising,” said NPR President Gary Knell in a press release. “She brings vision and a collaborative spirit that will help us forge innovative partnerships with NPR member stations across the country.

Producers of Austin City Limits have recorded more than 800 performances of the PBS rock music series during the past 37 years, but there are hours of footage that loyal viewers and music fans don’t even know about. Access to never-broadcast performances will come soon under a deal with Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland is departing the American Public Media show at the end of November. APM said Vigeland will continue as a contributor. Vigeland joined the program in 2001, as host of Marketplace Morning Report. She took over her current hosting duties in 2006.  “From my days as a cub reporter in the early ’90’s,” Vigeland said in a press release, “I knew I wanted to someday work at Marketplace. Any show that had that much fun on the air had to be a great place to do the news — not to mention ‘The Numbers.‘” She added, “I will miss our listeners more than I can express.”

Underwriters of public radio programs increasingly want to link their names more closely to particular stories and reporting projects, according to station executives, a trend that is requiring journalists to be more vigilant in fighting perceptions of potential conflicts of interest.

After discussions lasting nearly a year, New Hampshire Public Television and Boston’s WGBH have hammered out a collaboration to coordinate program schedules and consolidate some back-office operations. The agreement stops short of a merger, and each station will remain independently owned and operated. The arrangement will bring PBS’s full common-carriage schedule to the entire state of New Hampshire beginning in October, a departure from the current setup, under which NHPTV time-shifts the PBS national lineup because of a partial signal overlap with WGBH. The cost savings from outsourcing some technical and administrative functions — including master control and broadcast technologies, membership services and financial administration — to the Massachusetts station will allow NHPTV to revive a local student quiz show, Granite State Challenge.